South Dakota ends another fiscal year in the black, with nearly $100 million surplus

Caleb Barber, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·2 min read
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Jul. 17—PIERRE, S.D. — Gov. Kristi Noem announced that South Dakota has ended its 2022-2023 fiscal year with a $96.8 million surplus.

The total amount of sales and use tax, making up 58.83% of South Dakota's revenue, clocked in at about $1.25 billion, down $6.9 million from the proposed estimates for the year.

"South Dakota's economy is continuing to thrive because we keep state government small, taxes are low, and we spend within our means," Noem said in a statement. "This surplus shows that what we are doing here is working."

Commissioner of the South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management Jim Terwilliger said the surplus was a result of the state's conservative budgeting principles, and that it's important the state sticks to that behavior in the coming fiscal year.

"With so much uncertainty surrounding the national economy, conservative spending will ensure our long-term fiscal health," Terwilliger said in a statement.

The state government spent $79.7 million less than appropriated in fiscal year 2023. Accounting for the drop in sales tax revenue, the total revenue finishing above the legislative adopted forecast landed at $17.1 million.

South Dakota is one of 39 states that were expected to increase their surplus fund at the end of this fiscal year, according to

data compiled by the National Association of State Budget Officers

. South Dakota has finished every fiscal year with a budget surplus since 2012.

As of 2023, the state has received more than $2.5 billion in federal coronavirus aid. The surplus comes strictly out of state general funds, according to the office of the Governor.

The state's actual expenses for this fiscal year have stayed under the appropriated budgets for almost every department except for the Department of Transportation.

The state's reserves now sit at $335.7 million, a rainy day fund that Terwilliger said is the result of the state's strong economic metrics.

The reserve now makes up 14.7% of the 2024 fiscal year general fund budget.